I was surrounded by the ‘Service Above Self’ crowd
There’s nothing like sneaking away for couple of days, especially when you can do it with great friends.
Carol and I got to spend the weekend at the Myrtle Beach Hilton with Bea Rivers and Louis and Dawn Griffith and hundreds of our Rotary friends from throughout Eastern South Carolina.
Every March, Rotarians gather together to celebrate the past Rotary year and to plan for the next year. I have attended this conference every year possible since I was “forced” to go as a director of the Manning Rotary Club in March 2002. I always return home with a renewed enthusiasm for what Rotarians collectively accomplish every day of every year.
The majority of these Rotarians practice the motto of “Service Above Self” as they go about their daily lives. Some don’t.
If this selfless philosophy were evident in the lives of more people throughout the world, we would have less poverty, theft, greed, murder and all the other sins our fellow citizens endure every day.
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The support for what the <em>Clarendon Citizen</em> team is doing continues to be overwhelming throughout Clarendon County. I heard stories throughout the week from citizens telling me about when they or a family member had encountered “enough is enough” and made a change in their work life.
I got a phone call last week from Thomas Garrett, owner of the Lakeside Market, located in the Greater Goat Island/Taw Caw metro area. Thomas was calling to tell me about a customer of his who had caught two monster catfish and was wondering if the Citizen would be interested in publishing a picture in our Citizen Trophy section of the newspaper. I told him “of course” and I would stop by after the Summerton Rotary meeting Thursday morning to pick up the picture.
When visiting with Thomas, he told me about his own experience of “enough is enough.” He and his wife Ann had worked for a large textile manufacturer for many years. As the years progressed and the unrealistic corporate expectations intensified, what once had been an enjoyable job was no longer to be.
Ann has a connection to Clarendon County as a descendent of the former Summerton Keels Five and Dime family. They found out about the Lakeside Market being for sale and decided to pursue the American dream and bought the store. They drive from West Ashley every day and have plans to move to Clarendon County as soon as possible. I love hearing stories about people pursuing the American dream. This is what has made this county and country great.
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I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Clarendon citizen Clarence Taylor last week. Clarence and I met at the Manning Post Office last Tuesday at about 9:30 a.m. when we discovered that the hours had been cut and that the Post Office does not open until 10 a.m.
Clarence and I started talking about the news of the day and how concerned we were with where things are headed in our country.We both agreed that we were hopeful that everyone would get healthcare coverage but at what cost? We agreed that we were concerned about the debt our government is leaving our kids and grandkids.
I was on the verge of a rant about how screwed up things are in Washington when Clarence reminded me that there are many good people who are doing great things in government but we never hear about them. He’s right.
“The Media” tends to focus on the bad news and/or sensational news. After hearing the sensational/bad news all the time, you tend to get cynical and forget that there are good people doing good things out there. I’m going to work harder to remember that.
